medical Definition of Herpesviridae
: a family of double-stranded DNA viruses that consist of a spherical virion having the DNA contained in a central core surrounded by an icosahedral capsid, an amorphous layer of proteins, and an outer envelope consisting of a lipid bilayer and that include the cytomegalovirus and Epstein-Barr virus and the causative agents of chicken pox, equine coital exanthema, herpes simplex, infectious bovine rhinotracheitis, infectious laryngotracheitis, malignant catarrhal fever, Marek's disease, pseudorabies, rhinopneumonitis, roseola infantum, and shingles — see simplexvirus, varicellovirus
